VIRAL photographs targeting Maharashtra Minister Girish Mahajan, along with derogatory content accompanying them, were tampered with and extensively manipulated, police officials said on Sunday, even as the BJP leader warned of legal action in the matter. Some photographs purportedly showing Mahajan with a young woman had gone viral on social media a few days ago. The Maharashtra Cyber, a nodal agency, has registered a case against several social media handles and sent a request to X to immediately block and remove the objectionable content from these handles, officials said. The agency said the widely shared photos are not original but have been extensively manipulated and tampered with. The images were created and circulated to tarnish the Minister’s public image, dignity, and reputation, a senior police official said. Following a complaint filed on behalf of Mahajan, a case was registered against certain social media handles under sections 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 351(3), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 336(4) (forgery) and 356(3) (defamation) of the BNS. IT Act sections 66(C) (identity theft), 66(D) (cheating by personation using a computer resource) and 67 (publishing obscene material) have also been invoked, the official said. Besides Maharashtra Cyber, the cyber wing of the Jalgaon police has also written to X, requesting immediate blocking and removal of the objectionable accounts, he said.

 

Speaking to reporters in Nashik, Mahajan said he will initiate legal action against those who posted the fake photos on social media. “No one should use cropping or morphing of images and malign a person’s image,” Mahajan said, adding that he has a list of those who posted and reposted the images and that action will be taken against them. He said the woman in the photographs shares close family ties with him and is the daughter of his late friend, whose wedding responsibility he has undertaken. She has suffered mental distress due to the incident, the BJP leader said. He said the original images were tampered with using advanced technology to defame him. Such practices do not reflect the political culture of Maharashtra, the Minister said, adding that he would move the Bombay High Court to seek further action against those behind it. Mahajan also termed the episode a “political vendetta” but declined to name anyone, saying he does not know who is behind the morphing and circulation of the images. Calling for stricter regulation of artificial intelligence, Mahajan said the film industry and politicians are increasingly facing misuse of such technology and emphasised the need for stringent action. The cyber police are currently compiling a list of those who deliberately amplified the images, and they should face legal consequences, he added.